Christians do need to listen to some of the criticism advance by Jay Bakker and Marc Brown. For instance, insisting on a party affiliation from the pulpit is not only obnoxious, it suggests a foolish understanding of the ideologies motivating either party. In addition, it is true that some Christians have not heeded the admonition in 1 Peter 3:15 to give an answer with gentleness and respect. The level of public discourse amongst Christians is often appalling. However, the trouble with advancing this criticism in public is that it creates the impression of a two-sided issue: our faith community vs. the rest of evangelicalism. There are numerous individuals within the Conservative Christian and Moral Majority communities that do not live up to the stereotype advanced by Bakker and Brown. The rest of evangelicalism is not monolithic. When it is treated in this way, it suggests to me that the critics have not spent a lot of time outside their faith community although they often protest to the contrary.